Nissan's New Mobile Office Just Perfect for TreeHuggers
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
Fixed offices are so 20th century when TreeHuggers have to be everywhere at once. That is why we so happy about the new Nissan NV200, which combines storage and usable interior space by pulling the interior out like a drawer when stopped, so that it is efficient and small while travelling, but gets good access to tools and great interior space when stopped. Instead of having to go back to the office to do our post, we can do it right on site, saving lots of time and fuel. Here it is set up for one of our famous underwater shoots, with all the camera and scuba gear at the ready.
Nissan calls it "A Smart Business Tool of New Generation - for Active Professionals."
We think those two screens and comfy chair will make us so productive, without any wasted space, to follow the news wherever it is. Of course, we have ordered a hybrid with hemp upholstery and bioplastic body panels to be TreeHugger correct. Thank you Graham!
* A substantial, rugged-looking exterior, combining a dramatic front cab with a traditional box-like storage space, creates an emotional looking body form never before seen in the LCV class.
* An interior created to combine efficiency and a human touch, mentally refreshing its occupants when traveling to or from a job site. The customizable cargo area houses a unique pod that can smartly accommodate a variety of business needs. The pod is divided into customizable trays and boxes for efficient storage of profession-specific equipment, materials, work gear and apparel.
* The displayed NV200 has been outfitted specifically for use by a professional ocean photographer. The work area is equipped with a remote control panel for a spider camera, as well as equipment for organizing and editing photographs and images while on assignment. ::Scifitech and ::winding road
they put in a murphy bed and it might not be a bad idea... think how many people could live in a wal*mart parking lot...
This seems to be a slightly well intentioned idea, but more targeted at a new market niche than reduced environmental impact. I don't think I'd give it more than 2/10 for innovation, it's still a big, heavy, inefficient, aerodynamically atrocious tick and, despite their best efforts is actually quite UNconfigurable and I think makes very poor use of interior space.
A car already has two seats in it - why not make those dual function? Have a keyboard that can be used at the drivers seat, get the steering wheel out of the way - the workspace in the back can't be used while the car is in motion anyway.
As for the configurable storage - great idea, but only if you assume you're always going to want to have a large amount of gear with you. If all you wanted to do is take your camera/whatever then it's all just wasted space resulting in wasted energy. Much better to have a trailer that can be attached depending on the task; this would also make it easier to customize the aerodynamics to the load, rather than this which would have a lousy drag coefficient regardless of what you were carrying.
Conclusion: Cool, but not particularly appealing to someone aiming for reduced environmental impact I don't think.
I thought you were being tongue-in-cheek in praising this. Do you really need this to file a treehugger report? Doesn't a laptop fit into a messenger bag or a bike pannier?
Personally I would rather have an relatively inexpensive camper van, a hybrid with a relatively large battery, both for longer range in town driving, but also to have enough power to run a mid sized inverter for quite some time. A small solar panel on top to limit recharging while camping and gain a small boost in mileage for the commute home from work
I don't need satellite TV while camping or a microwave, but heat and A/C would extend the season quite a bit for me! I hate the thought of burning gaseous fuels in a small enclosed space. CO is bad!
Is this an ad bought by Nissan and placed in Treehugger by the new owners?
This is ridiculous, it's an SUV, like anyone would really use this as an office, these types of posts are not the reason I read this website.
Looks good. The window color however is wrong. Yellow and orange filtered light has been shown to be unhealthy. See John Ott's studies on light spectrum.
The prototype they show seems to be set up more for looks than actual efficiency. In a real world use I'd hope the pull out section would have lots of different sized storage bins, drawers, etc. More set up for a repair vehicle with tools and spare parts stored there and work benches on the inside.
Awesome car! i love the recycled-spaceage-design-style. That automobile wont go cheap :S
Make the whole car run on an electric motor and your set...in other words solar panel the whole roof or have it run on recycled vegetable oil...or something then i'd think its somewhat worth it..
Very cool, I like it!!!
super office! i volunteer to test an office like that ;) everyday working on a new location; along the beach, in the city, in the countryside, you name it. better then on the 3rd floor without sunlight. think about it folks. this thing must get on the market. esspecially now that the number of people working as a freelancer are increasing.